Oxygen reaction-diffusion in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition HfO/sub 2/ films annealed in O/sub 2/

Abstract

Composition, atomic transport, and chemical reaction were investigated following annealing in O2 of ultrathin HfO2 films deposited on Si substrates thermally nitrided in NO. The as-prepared thin film composition was established by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, nuclear reaction analysis, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy as a HfO2 film on an intermediate layer containing silicon oxynitride, hafnium silicate, and possibly hafnium–silicon oxynitride. O penetration, incorporation in the bulk of the HfO2 /SiOxNy structure, and oxidation of the substrate forming SiO2 were observed.